The Galley Guys and Our Little Secret

Story and photos by: Andy Adams

Making Life Onboard a Little More Comfortable

Let’s make this our little secret…

The theme of this June 2018 Canadian Yachting is Spring Launch & Summer Destinations, so going places in the boat is certainly at the heart of this issue. In any group of people, it’s not unusual to find that someone is uncomfortable going on the boat because they have a problem with motion sickness. It’s their little secret and it holds them back.

 

Manning the pan, Galley Guy John Armstrong makes up a batch of ginger pancakes for breakfast with ginger syrup.

So, we have our own little secret– it’s called ginger. While we were researching this article, we ran across a company that calls itself the Ginger People and they have a line of products all based on ginger. They also have a very good website and it includes the following information:A 2009 study funded by the National Cancer Institute found patients who consumed ginger had significantly reduced nausea following chemotherapy. A separate study found ginger more effective than the anti-nausea drug Dramamine in blocking motion sickness.

Some of the anti-nausea products on the market may be effective for motion sickness but bring other unwanted effects, such as dry mouth and drowsiness. Ginger doesn’t seem to have any side effects for most people. So, as long as people like the spicy, fresh flavour of ginger, why not include it in your boating plans?

The ginger syrup is a good way to start the day.

There are other purported benefits as well. Called “The Great Medicine” by ancient Indian vaids, ginger has been shown to improve gastric mobility (i.e. it helps push food and waste through the digestive system) and hinders the absorption of cholesterol.

It can also function as a migraine reliever. A study published in Psychotherapy Research showed ginger to be equally as effective as the prescription drug Sumatriptan at preventing the onset of migraines and reducing their severity. Ginger has the added benefit of having no serious or frequent side effects associated with its medicinal use.

Products from the Ginger People are widely available here in Ontario but there are lots of companies that supply ginger spice, raw ginger root in the store, and more – ginger is easily accessible. The thing we like about the Ginger People is that they seem to have dedicated themselves to making things using ginger and we found ourselves buying several of their products to try them out.

 

These are a few of the Ginger People products. The Teriyaki marinade was grand on a grilled sirloin.

Ginger Recipes
We started with things that we could make at home and bring on board the boat for the weekend. One of the obvious choices was to bake a big batch of gingerbread cookies.

One of the more creative products the company offers is their ginger syrup. So, we decided to start off with a pancake breakfast garnished with fresh fruit and topped with ginger syrup instead of maple.

We also tried out their Teriyaki Ginger Steak Marinade and found that to be quite tasty. But one of my personal favourites is the crystallized ginger candy that the Ginger People sell in a jar or a bag. That was a great favorite of my grandfather’swhen I was a child. A very special treat for me was a chunk of crystallized ginger candy with my grandfather. He will always have a special place in my heart. The ginger candy gets a special place in my galley!

So, all the Galley Guys got together to try out our ginger recipes and products on the boat. Our friends at Pride Marine Group at Krates in Keswick very kindly provided us with a new Sea Ray 460 Sundancerfor the afternoon and the photo shoot.

 

Gingerbread Cookies
These are handy snacks: They keep very well and if you bake them crispy, the humidity of the boat softens them to be the way a lot of people like. Gingerbread cookies are a great choice for seafaring families and Galley Guy Greg Nicoll spread out a platter of them to share during the shoot.

There are all kinds of recipes for gingerbread cookies and gingersnaps in cookbooks and online, but here’s the one that I use at home. This makes a gingerbread dough that you can roll out and cut into shapes or simple rectangles.

 

Breakfast on Board
Pancakes are certainly a simple but tasty breakfast food and we made sure ours were served up with plenty of fresh blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Of course, the main reason for doing this was to try out the ginger syrup we got from the Ginger People.

Canadian pancake fans will certainly be accustomed to maple syrup, so the change to ginger might come as a shock, but we found that it was delicious on the pancakes and was as good or better with the fresh fruit.

We see the change to ginger syrup as a creative way to change up your breakfast and the fact that it may help to settle somebody’s stomach can just be our little secret.

For the photos, we made regular Aunt Jemima pancakes, but the Ginger People also have a recipe online and they offer a product designed for cooking. These are small pieces of crystallized ginger that can easily be stirred into the pancake batter and secretly baked right into your breakfast.

David Kent, Manager at Pride Marine at Krates in Keswick, clearly approved of the idea and he told us about his own little secret – a carrot ginger soup that’s delicious and effective, too. That would be a good course for your lunch on board and a big jar of that made at home could be easily heated up on board to go with sandwiches.

 

Gin Gins
On top of all the delicious ways you can slip ginger into the weekend meal plan, the Ginger People offer traveler’s anti-nausea ginger. Packaged in a resealable cellophane bag, each ‘Gin Gin’candy is individually wrapped and they are formulated to pack an extra amount of ginger. Unwrap one and eat it before you get on board. Also, keep a supply at the helm for anyone who’s turning a bit green.

Your family member or guest who is normally uncomfortable on board may find themselves feeling more relaxed and comfortable thanks to the many benefits of ginger.

We hope you’ll try these recipe ideas and on behalf of the Galley Guys, happy cruising this summer!

Galley Guys’ Gingerbread Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.

Ingredients:
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1½ teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup of shortening
1 cup of sugar
1 large egg
1 cup molasses
2 tablespoons vinegar

In a large bowl, stir together the flour,baking soda, spices, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the shortening for 30 seconds. Add sugar – beat until fluffy. Add egg, molasses and vinegar – beat well. Add dry ingredients to the beaten mixture, beating well. Cover and chill three hours or overnight. Divide dough into thirds. On a lightly floured surface, roll each 1/3 of the dough to a 1/8-inch thickness. Keep the remainder chilled. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into the desired shapes. Place cookies one inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in oven at 375° for five to six minutes. Cool for one minute. Remove to wire rack. Makes 60 small cookies. Store cookies in an airtight container up to five days.